[Sca-cooks] Now that our DSL is back online...

[Laura C. Minnick]

I have to tell you all about the dinner I cooked at Summits Investiture 
last Saturday...

The outgoing Princess was a friend of ours (Edouard and I) and she really 
needed some decompression, so I offered to host she and the Prince for 
dinner after the Investiture court. I made (with a lot of help from younger 
daughter Lydia):

Stwed Beeff (Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books)
Macrows (Forme of Cury)
Chickens in Hocchee (Curlye on Inglysch) (yes, again)
a Carrot/Mustard Greens dish that I made up
and a Tarte of Strawberries (A Proper Newe Book)

The Stwed Beeff turned out well- no surprise with half a bottle of wine! 
Served with bread to sop the broth.

I cheated on the Macrows- I knew the weather was likely to be ugly and 
conditions are already dicey in camp- I used boxed lasagna noodles, boiled 
in the broth after I pulled out the chicken, and a sack of pre-grated 
'Italian Four-Cheese Blend'. And it was yummy. I know the recipe doesn't 
call for it, but I put it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese 
a bit and brown it on top. I like it that way.

The Chickens in Hocchee was more of a success this time- at least I didn't 
notice a 'hot', raw garlic taste. And the bird was moist (go figure) and 
flavorful, and well received.

The carrots and greens was a fallback- I'd planned on making 'Cariota', but 
couldn't find any fennel. So I faked it- boiled the carrots in broth, 
sauteed the greens in butter and olive oil till they slumped, then stirred 
them together, adding some parsley and a dash of white wine vinegar. It was 
delicious.

The Tart of Strawberries was very good, though somewhat challenging. 
Sprinkled the sugar over the berries before smooshing them through the 
colander (makes the juice run and the berries soften a bit), which Lydia 
did with great gusto. Mixed it with the eggs (pre-beaten), bread crumbs, 
and butter (melted  in a little pipkin on the top of the oven). Then I 
discovered that I'd forgotten the crust! (I use pre-made crusts in camp.) 
So I put it directly in the pan and called it a custard, baked it, then 
garnished with a few strawberries that I'd held back, and served it up. 
Very yummy. The new viscount was especially enjoying it, and went back for 
several helpings.

All that and a bottle of Interlocken made for a delightful evening. A local 
Duchess joined us, and she enjoyed the dinner enough to ask me for my 
redactions! (Not easy to do, as I'm something of a 'seat of the pants' cook 
who usually doesn't use measures!) Mailed that off today...

I find that a dinner is best when shared with others, and a great deal of 
the joy is in the process- showing my daughter how to removed the giblets, 
stuff, and pin closed a chicken with skewers was a pleasure (though kinda 
gross) that I wouldn't have missed for the world...

'Lainie
___________________________________________________________________________
O it is excellent to have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous To use it 
like a giant--Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act II